Improvement in paper-folding machines



UNTTED STATES PATE` LUTHER O. GROWELL, OF BOSTON, `MASSAOHUSE'ITS. .t

IMPROVEMENT IN PAPER-FOLDING MACHINES.

Specification forming partof Letters Patent No. 186,309, dated Jair'lury 16. 1877; ppliqation filed June 6, 1876.

i To all whom it may concern:`

Be it known that I, LUTHER C. CnowELL, of Boston, county .of Suffolk, and Common# wealth of Massachusetts, have invented Improvements in Paper-Folding Machines, of which the following is a specification:

This invention relates to mechanism for folding and delivering paper,A and is specially adapted to fold paper passing from a cylinder or perfecting web press. The paper, passing throughthe press in continuous length from a roll, and, being taken by the folding mechanism, is folded in a direction transverse to its length and cut, and is then folded in an Aopposite direction, ready for transmission through the mail, or for other purposes.

This invention consists in the combination, Witha cylinder or carrier and a pivoted or swinging folding-blade, ofa stop or deliector, to throw outward the edge of the foldingblade to fold and direct apiece of paper into the bite of a pair of feeding-rollers; also, in the combination, with the fold-nipping mech! anism and its carrier, of supplement-cutters, to sever the folded edge of the paper to produce half-sheets, as for supplements; also, in

the combination, with mechanismV adapted to` fold a sheet in a line parallel with the axis of the folding cylinder or carrier, of an adjustable roller carrying frame, which may be thrown into or out of operation when it is desired to form a second fold in a once-folded paper 5 also, in a hinged folding-blade and a feeding r device, arranged to form a second fold in a sheet of paper, in combination with a guide, a, hinged or pivoted folder, and mechanism working in connection therewith, to form afoldsubstantially at right angles to the second rier b is, inths instance, the driven shaft, and the cylinder c is connected and moved with it through pinions d c, the shafts of the cylinders being mounted in bearings on the frame f, of any suitable construction to `properly sustain the working parts. When the folding-m achine is to be employed to fold newspapers or other printed matter issuing from a printing-press, the cylinder c is placed at the delivering end of the press, with its axis parallel with the axis of the printingmachine cylinders, and the paper passingfrom the press is impaled on'the points or holding-pins-g, that project through slots in a movable cutting-blade, h, having its ed ge t preferably' serrated, it acting as one member of a cutting mechanism, the other member being the fly y',yFig. 2. This figure shows one set of holding-pins, g, just coming into position to engage the paper (not shown) issuing from the press. corresponding set of holding pins and its blade l1. are in the position they would occupy immediately before severing the sheet of paper. The paper or sheet severed by the action of the movable cutting-blade h, and the edge vof the iiy j extended, prior to its being sev-` the support Z, the folder m, and the slacker n,

the latter being carried by arms o. Projecting pins p on the slacker n rest on the stationary cams q, (one at each side ofthe machine,) provided with depressed parts, to allow the slacker n to fall just as the folder m commences to enter between the jaws f1 c1 of the fold-nipping mechanism k. (Sec Fig. 2.)

The folder fm, to fold a newspaper centrally, is placed on the cylinder midway between the series of holding-pins y, the latter holding that portion of lthe paper constituting the` edges of the newspaper. These holding- 'points and foldingblades will be placed at such distances apart upon the cylinder as to hold and fold at the desired places. It will be The other Am comes opposite the jaws f1 e1 of the nipping mechanism, presses the paper lying on it between the jaws. folding the paper transversely, the slacker-bar giving up paper to form the fold. rlhe jaws grasp the fold firmly, and as the fold is commenced a finger, 1^, on the shaft of the movable cutter, acts on a projection, s, (see Fig. 1,) and turns the movable cutter to strip the paper from the holdingpills g. The nipping mechanism 7c holds the folded portion ofthe sheet just discharged by the movement of the critter h, but the free end of the paper drops upon the support t, (preferablyv a sheet or strip of light springmetal,) the edge of which holds such free end up toward the cylinder b and away from the holding mechanism, composed in this instance of a lip, u, and a yielding roller, '0. When the cylinder b, carrying the folded part of the paper, moves far'enough in the directionof its arrow 2 to bring a movable cutting-blade and fly together, the paper is again severed, and the nipping mechanism then holds a newspaper with two free ends, both of which are held up by the support t against the smooth face w of the cylinder. The dy j in this instance is a bar carried at the ends ofl arms projecting from a shaft, x, having connected with it at 011e end a spring, y, the tendency of the spring being to hold the ljy against the cross-plate or face yw. The shaft x has attached to it (see Fig. l) an arm, a1, that, as cylinder b rotates, strikes a stop, b,just as the two free ends of the newspaper held by the nipping mechanism are passing between the ily and the roller c of the holding mechanism, and when the arm engages the stop the fly-shaft is turned, (the cylinder continuing to move,) and the fly thrown out away from the cylinder in a tangentialv direction, presses the free ends of 'the paper down on the roller lv, or on other paper, or a pile of papers, already folded and deposited there. The holding mechanism holds each paper while the folded portion is released from the nippers. As the y releases the free ends of the paper they are caught and held between the lip u and the roller held pressed upward by a spring' coiled about the shaft c1, from which project the roller-carrying arms d1.

At the opposite end of shaft a: from that shown in Figs. l and 2 is an arm, e2, that, as the fly leaves the paper and the roller t bears against a cam, f2, holds the' iiy, and permits its axis x to turn gradually back to the position shown between'the cylinders b and c, or to cutting position.

The' action of the parts so far described` will deposit papers once folded in a pile, and their folded edgesv will be placed substantially parallel or uniform, sufficiently so to be taken away in a pile, ready for rapid hand-folding.

This fly, carried by the rotating cylinder b, may be thrown out and in at the proper times, to operate as described, by other devices than those shown and just described.

In case half-sheets or supplements are to be.

delivered, it is only necessary to set up the types to print half-sheets, and the folding goes on as usual; but to separate the half-sheets, there is arranged, in connection with the nipping mechanism, a supplement-cutting mechanism. (See Fig. 2.)

The nipping mechanism is composed of a stationary bar or jaw, el, extending across the cylinder b, and a movable jaw, f1, faced preferably with india-rubber or leather, and carried at the ends of arms projecting from a shaft, g. In this instance of my invention, the arms are loosely connected with the shaft gl, a spiral spring, h1, being connected with the shaft and with the arms, so as to allow the arms to move for a short distance about the shaft when desired, a spring, il, con necting an arm on the shaft, and astud,j1, on plate w, so as to throw the jawj1 away from its stationary jaw el.

At the proper time for the nipping mechanism to close on the paper presented by the folder, an arm, kl, Fig. l, meets the cam l1, and closes the jaws, and the arm bears on this cam as long as it is necessary to hold the folded paper; but when it is to be released, then the arm passes beyond the cam, andthe spring il throws back the movable jaw fl.

On the shaft gl are arms m1, to the outer ends of which is attached a cutting-blade, nl, the latter being guided in an opening made for its reception in thejaw f1, and the springs h1 are connected, one end to these arms ml, and the other to the arms of the jawfl.

New, to operate the supplement cutting mechanism, or the blade nl, the movable campiece o1 is thrown up into action, so as to give arm k1 a greater movement, which causes the shaft g1 to move after the jaw f1 meets jaw e1, and carries with it the blade u1, which passes through the folded paper near the extreme edge of the fold, and cuts the paper into halfsheets. At the lower side of cylinder b is shown a modified form of cutter, and instead of using thejaw e1 as the cutting-edge, there is connected with e1 a spring-blade, 101, the spring-blade being connected at one end only, and extending diagonally across the edge of the cutter nl, and, being a spring-blade, it wipes along the edge of al, producing a shearcut.

On the cylinder b are pivoted or hinged folders q1, they being plates connected, each with a shaft, r1, held in the position shown in Fig. 2, by a spring, s1, and each blade has a finger, t1, adapted to engage a stop or deector,

u1, on an adjustable roller-carrying frame, c1, provided with feeding-rollers w1, having pinions :v1 gearing together, and adapted to be throwninto engagement with teeth d of cylinder b, whenever it is desired to fold the paper a second time. This frame o1 is pivoted a bar, d2, acts on arms d1 of the roller o, and

depresses the roller, so thatit cannot rise un derthe action of the spring and press the ends of the `paper up againstthe lip u. As the frame o1 is lifted it moves a lever, g2, connected with` a lever, h2, that slides a loose toothed hub, t2, into engagement with a bevel, jz, on a shaft, k2, provided with a crank, l2, connected by lilik m2 with a crank, n2, on the `shaft'of cylinder c, the shaft k2 getting its motion in this instance from shaft of cylinder c, in this way; but many different devices or modes of connection might be employed instead of the connections shown.

l The frame ol, when in its elevated position, places the deiiector al in the path of the linger t1 of the pivoted folder g1, and stops or detains the folder, causing its ,edge to `turn outward from the cylinder b, and to bear against the paper already once folded, and fold it and press the bight or fold between the faces of the moving' rollers w1 w1, which then carry the paper away, folding and feeding it into a guide, 02, it being a series of upright narrow plates, at the side of which isa vibrating double folder, p2, `connected with a vertical shalt, g supported in bearings, and provided with fingers r2, adapted to be struck by projections s2 (see Eig. 3) on a toothed Wheel, t2, on `the vertical folding-cylinder, adapted to fold the papers in a direction opposite to the direction in which they were folded by cylinders b c. A pin, x2, at the lower end of shaft g2,`rests on a double inclined crown-cam, a2, `which serves the purpose of turning the shaft g2 of the double folder back to its normal posi- `tion after each operation, the weight of the i shaft and folder being sufficient to ride down `the cam-faces. The shaft 'v2 of the vertical folding apparatus has at bottom'a bevel-gear,

` y wz, engaged bythe bevel j2 on the shaft k2. This vertical cylinder is provided with nipping-jaws a3 b3, and with movable vertical folders c3, held by springs and provided with fingers, as are movable folders q1, a deflector, 2da, engaging such fingers to throw the verti- 'cal movable folders c3 outward, to cause them to fold the papers passed from the guide o2 by thedouble folder p2, and held between the parts a3 b3 of the vertical nipping mechanism, Y and as the papers so folded are carried around by the vertical cylinder, each vertical folder 03under the action of the deflector dyfolds the paper and forces the fold made through or into `the bite of the vertical rollers e3, provided lwith gear, and; operated from the pinion t2; The shaft of each jaw b3 has a shoe, a3, i Fig. o, that bears against a stationary cam,

`o3, on a plate,p3, in which the shaft o2 turns.

In Fig. 6, the shoe a3 at the right is just about to strike the cam o3, and the cam will move a3, and throw the jaw b3 toward the jaw a3, and cause the jaws to grasp a folded paper, and carry it beyond the rollers e3, and after the folder c3 folds the paper, the shoe a3 leaves the cam 03, and the springs `connected with the jaws (see Fig. 3) open the jaws and releasethe paper. Papers issuing from between the vertical rollers e3, in this instance folded four times, are fed rapidly into a mailing or Wrapping box, in which is placed a packer,f3, it being a vibra-ting arm carried by a rockingshaft, g3, atlthe lower end of which is a crank,

h3, connected by link t3 with an eccentric strap embracing an eccentric on the shaft o2. The papers are moved alternately' into the boxes j3 k3, in which are placed movable slides Z3, which are gradually moved back as the boxes and slides are filled. The papers are prevented from crowding backward to the rollers e3 by springtingers m3. With the pack-er l may connect a counting mechanism, to indicate the number of papers folded.

It` will be seen, by those conversant with `mechanism, that the Amechanical details for operating the parts actively engaged to fold the paper and deliver it, as described, can be varied without departing from this invention, as equivalently operating, connecting, and driving mechanisms may be employed.

\ The principal element-of the supplementcutterlis a blade carried by a nipping-jaw.

and adapted to slide on or in such jaw, andin this part of my invention it will be noticed that the blade is moved to sever the paper after the paper is grasped and held by the' jaw, and the movable jaw and cutter are both moved by the same shaft, the jaw, however,

being connected with the shaft, so that the latter, with the blade, can move farther than the jaw. p

`This feature of my invention could be carried out by many different connecting and operating devices other than those shown,

which would bemere equivalents; so I do not limit thisl feature of my invention to the mechanism shown.

The supplementcutter might be placed in connection with the stationary jaw, :and have mechanism arranged to operate it, after the jaws met to grasp the paper. Springs r3 restore the folders 03 to position against jaws b3, after passing out from between the rollers e3.

The part u of the holding mechanism might be hinged and arranged to be moved backward as the fly presses the paper down, and to come forward over the end of the paper like a hook when the fly moves away.

A spring bar. or rod might take the place of supportt.

In this application I have described a y for .operating in connection with the sheets of paper; but do not, however, claim such device broadly, or combined with the cylinders b c and their folding devices, as such elements form the subject-matter of another application filed in the United States Patent Ofce November l1, 1875.

1. The rotating cylinder b, and the hinged blade or fly pivoted thereto, and adapted to operate, substanrially as described, in combination With a holding mechanism, substantially as described, to hold the free ends of the newspaper discharged from the jaws of the cylinder, substantially as herein set forth.

2. rlhe hinged blade or y, its spring y, arms c2 and al, in combination With the cylinder, the cam f2, and stop b1, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the cylinder and nipping mechanism for holding` the folded paper, of a spring-support, t, to hold up or retain the free ends ofthe paper, substantially as described.

4. The cylinder and pivoted or hinged folding-blade, in combination with a pair of rollers, and a stop or detlector to turn the folding blade out from the cylinder, and press the fold made in the paper into and between the rollers, substantially as described.

5. rllhe roller-carrying frame and the rollers, in combination With the cylinder, hinged or pivoted folding blade, and guide to receive the folded papers delivered from the rollers, Substantially as described.

6. The roller-carrying frame and locking devices adapted to retain the pinion of one roller into or out of engagement with the cylinder-teeth, in combination With the vertical folding cylinder and with mechanism, sub stantially as described, to engage or disen gage the shaft ofthe vertical folding cylinder and its operating mechanism, substantially as set forth.

7. The cylinder and fold-nipping mechanism, in combination With a supplement-cutter, substantially as described, to sever the folded portion of the paper held by the nipping mechanism, substantially as described.

8. The guide to hold the paper, a pivoted folding blade, p2, adapted to be projected through the guide, and the connected finger, in combination with a vertical folding-cylinder and nipping mechanism, substantially as described, and a projection to operate the pivoted folding-blade, substantially as described.

9. The cylinder, and the pivoted foldingblade carried by it, the roller-carrying frame and rollers, and delector to operate the blade to form a second fold in a paper, in combination With the vertical foldingblade, vertical folding-cylinder, provided with fold-nipping mechanism and folding-blade, and With a pair of vertical rollers, substantially as described.

l0. A movable nipping-jaw and its operating shaft, in combination with a supplementcutting blade, carried by the jaw, and av spring t0 connect the arms of thejaw, and the arms to which the cutting-blade is attached, Whereby the cutting-blade is adapted to move after the jaw comes to rest, substantially as described.

l1. The horizontally-rotatingl folding-cylinders, provided With blades and nipping mechanism, substantially as describedadapt ed to fold the web of paper at right angles to its length, in combination With a verticallyplaced folding-cylinder, provided with jaws a3 b3, and a pair of rollers, and a folding-blade,p2, arranged between the cylinders to remove the folded newspaper from the cylinder b to the vertical cylinder, to be folded at right angles to the direction of the length of the first fold in the newspaper, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

' LUTHER o. oRoWELL.

Witnesses:

G. W. GREGORY, W. J PRATT. 

